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2024-10-29 19:42:56"You idiot!" Snowcloud looked at Arran with tear-filled eyes. "I thought you had died!"
Arran didn't respond. She had repeated variations on the same words at least a dozen times in just the past half hour, and by now, he understood there was nothing he could say that would make a difference.
When he returned to the castle, he had expected her to be angry, even furious. What he had not expected was for her to hug him while nearly crying her eyes out.
In Arran's view, this was considerably worse than anything he'd been prepared for. Her anger, he could weather. But this, he had no idea how to handle. It was clear his absence had hurt her, and that she had spent the weeks he was gone in worry, fretting that he had died or been captured.
He had apologized, of course, but it seemed an apology wasn't what she wanted. As for what she did want, Arran had no idea.
Part of him blamed Ston
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Forbidden Sphere Chapter 156
True to Snowcloud's word, she had them leave the castle at dawn.Stoneheart and Tuya saw them off as they departed, offering them wishes of good fortune on their travels, along with several small gifts.Tuya gave Arran fifty Essence Crystals, which she said was a token of gratitude for his help in disposing of the army. Arran accepted it gracefully, not bothering to point out that she'd taken twice as much for the armor he'd used. Tuya, he suspected, would have been able to easily handle the matter herself had she wanted to.Stoneheart, on the other hand, had little to offer but his gratitude. The tall novice had last his own void bag in battle months earlier, and it appeared that Elder Naran had confiscated all the belongings of the novices they'd defeated in battle.The giant Elder himself, finally, did not appear. From what Snowcloud said, he'd locked himself away weeks earlier, and it seemed that
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 1
Arran awoke before dawn, his body stiff from sleeping on the cold grass. There had been an inn a few miles back, but three months of travel had drained most of the coin he had inherited from his father. Now, spending several coppers for a warm bed seemed like a luxury he could ill afford.Yet despite his sore body, this morning found Arran filled with excitement. Today, after three months, he would finally arrive in Fulai City. Today, he would finally have a chance to join the Academy and become a mage.When the first light of dawn appeared Arran broke camp in a hurry, eating a tough hunk of stale bread as he packed his bag. After months of travel the time to eat breakfast properly would not make much of a difference, but with the end of his journey in sight, his patience had long since worn thin.Heart filled with excitement, he set off.By late morning the cottages and farms along the road grew more frequent, and Arran knew he must be nearing the city. Each new hill he climbed saw h
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 2
Adept Song cursed under his breath as he hurried through the halls of the Academy. There were over a dozen Adepts testing hundreds of applicants each day, and he just had to get the one with a forbidden Realm.And not just any forbidden Realm, at that. That blond-haired freak in his office had actually managed to crack the testing disc!A shiver ran down his spine as he thought about it. Whatever kind of foul magic the young man possessed, he did not want to know about it. The sooner the little monster was locked away in the dungeon, the better.Panting, he reached his master's office. He took a few moments to catch his breath, then knocked on the door. A moment later, it swung open without a sound.Inside, a handsome man with sharp features and short black hair sat behind a desk. At first glance, he seemed to be about thirty years old, but a closer look revealed an ageless quality in his face, as if his body had stopped aging at some point in the distant past."Master Zhao," Adept So
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 3
Arran sat in the common room of the Blue Angel, playing a game of stones with one of the girls, a cute brunette with a freckled face."I win again," she said with a giggle.He handed her a copper. "Another game?" he asked, and she nodded eagerly. Few of the girls at the Blue Angel would object to earning an easy copper or two.The first day he had spent in his room, afraid that being seen would allow the Academy to find him more easily. Caught between fear and boredom, he had spent the day filled with fear and worry, and before long the small room had felt like a prison cell.Eventually, boredom had won out over fear, and he had headed down to the common room of the inn.The next few days he had spent playing games of stones and cards with the girls. He lost all but a few of the games, but he welcomed the distraction — not having to think about the danger he was in was easily worth a few handfuls of coppers.It had been three days since his visit to the Academy, and Master Zhao had st
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 4
Arran stared at the blond man in front of him. He was certain he had never seen the man's face before, yet there was something strangely familiar about him."Who are you?" he asked again.The man smirked, and his image suddenly grew blurry. When it cleared, Master Zhao's grinning face appeared.Arran was astonished. "So it was you…" Although he had seen the man change like this once before, at the time he had been too shocked to give it much thought."Why did you draw so much attention?" Arran asked. "After tonight, there is no way we can escape unnoticed.""I've always loved a good bit of theater," Master Zhao said, a sly smile on his face. "But more importantly, this was the best way to hide you."A puzzled expression appeared on Arran's face. Drawing attention was the best way to hide him?"You failed to get into the Academy, then spent half a week at the biggest brothel in the city, before getting hauled off by your uncle." Master Zhao grinned."Nobody would act that way while try
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 5
Arran suppressed a yawn as he walked.He had barely slept a wink the previous night, instead lying awake as he thought about the many things Master Zhao had told him. When he fell asleep it was near dawn, and true to his word, Master Zhao had come knocking on his door right at the break of dawn, once more wearing the disguise of Arran's 'uncle' Derrin.Somewhere, the man had acquired a large cart drawn by two horses, filled with who-knows-what. Not long after sunrise they had left, Master Zhao riding the cart while Arran walked beside it.He cast an annoyed glance at Master Zhao. When he had asked if he could ride on the cart instead of having to walk next to it, the man had refused, telling him that physical exercise was crucial to being a mage.Apparently, that did not extend to Master Zhao himself. Comfortably sitting in the driver's seat of the cart, he showed no sign of wanting to trade places with Arran."How much farther before we rest to eat?" Arran asked. It was near midday,
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 6
Standing on the road before Arran and Master Zhao were six men. They looked like soldiers or mercenaries, carrying swords and axes, and wearing battle-scarred armor.Arran tried to control his fear, but only partly succeeded. "Are they from the Academy?" he asked, voice shaking."Just some common bandits," Master Zhao said dismissively. "Deal with them." He did not seem the least bit concerned."Deal with them?" Arran's eyes went wide. Even if the men weren't from the Academy, there were six of them, all armored. And Master Zhao expected Arran to deal with them?There was no time for Arran to object. Already, the men were in front of them."We'll take the cart and the horses, and any coin you're carrying." The man who spoke was tall, with a bald head that bore several deep scars. "Hand them over, and we'll let you leave with your lives.""We can't do that." Arran had drawn his sword and was standing in front of the six men, alone."Kill them." The bald man said the words calmly and wi
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 7
Several days had gone by since their encounter with the bandits, and despite his earlier words, Master Zhao had still not begun teaching Arran magic.Each time he asked Master Zhao when they would begin training, the answer was the same: "Soon."After a week, Arran was beginning to lose hope.Then, one morning, as Arran was starting his morning practice with the sword, Master Zhao unexpectedly stopped him."Not today," the man said. "Today, you set your first step on the path to becoming a mage"Arran immediately felt an eager grin appear on his face. "When do we start?" he asked, barely able to contain his excitement."Right now," Master Zhao answered. He produced two scrolls from his robe, which he handed them over to Arran. "First, study these."Arran sat down, then picked one of the scrolls and unrolled it.Immediately, his face went sour. The scroll was filled with writing, but it used peculiar symbols he had never seen before."I don't know how to read this," he said. He half ex
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- Forbidden Sphere
Chapter 156
True to Snowcloud's word, she had them leave the castle at dawn.Stoneheart and Tuya saw them off as they departed, offering them wishes of good fortune on their travels, along with several small gifts.Tuya gave Arran fifty Essence Crystals, which she said was a token of gratitude for his help in disposing of the army. Arran accepted it gracefully, not bothering to point out that she'd taken twice as much for the armor he'd used. Tuya, he suspected, would have been able to easily handle the matter herself had she wanted to.Stoneheart, on the other hand, had little to offer but his gratitude. The tall novice had last his own void bag in battle months earlier, and it appeared that Elder Naran had confiscated all the belongings of the novices they'd defeated in battle.The giant Elder himself, finally, did not appear. From what Snowcloud said, he'd locked himself away weeks earlier, and it seemed that
- Forbidden Sphere
Chapter 155
"You idiot!" Snowcloud looked at Arran with tear-filled eyes. "I thought you had died!"Arran didn't respond. She had repeated variations on the same words at least a dozen times in just the past half hour, and by now, he understood there was nothing he could say that would make a difference.When he returned to the castle, he had expected her to be angry, even furious. What he had not expected was for her to hug him while nearly crying her eyes out.In Arran's view, this was considerably worse than anything he'd been prepared for. Her anger, he could weather. But this, he had no idea how to handle. It was clear his absence had hurt her, and that she had spent the weeks he was gone in worry, fretting that he had died or been captured.He had apologized, of course, but it seemed an apology wasn't what she wanted. As for what she did want, Arran had no idea.Part of him blamed Ston
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Chapter 154
"Our town is called Riverbend," the woman said, her voice anxious. "I am the mayor."Arran spent some moments in thought. While the village — it was far too small to be called a town — shared a name with his old hometown, the two places were thousands of miles apart, and other than being next to a river, they seemed to have little in common.Still, the name reminded him of the life he had left behind. Even if he did not regret his decision to become a mage, he wondered what things would have been like had he stayed in the real Riverbend. Calmer, probably, and certainly less bloody.Arran shook himself from his thoughts. He had more important matters to handle."What about them," he said, gesturing at the soldiers. "What are they doing here?"Before the woman could respond, one of the soldiers stepped forward, a stocky, middle-aged man with dark skin and several old scars on his face."You gonna kill us?" Although the man's expression was cautious, there was no fear in his eyes. It see
- Forbidden Sphere
Chapter 153
In the days after the battle, Arran hunted the escaped soldiers with grim determination. Deadly though the battle had been, many survivors had managed to flee, and thousands of them now filled the woods surrounding the camp.After just three days, he had already killed more soldiers in his hunt than he had killed during the battle, and even if most of the temporary strength of the Blood magic dissipated quickly, he could feel that there were permanent benefits, as well.Perhaps he wouldn't be able to shrug off major wounds the way he had right after the battle, but any small wounds he sustained healed easily, and his strength had more than doubled.Several times, groups of soldiers tried to ambush him. They did not live to regret the mistake. Arran's Shadowsight allowed him to see through their ambushes easily, and even if most of the strength of the initial battle had dissipated, Arran was strong enough to crush them effortlessly.More troublesome were the ones who neither fought nor
- Forbidden Sphere
Chapter 152
Stoneheart braced himself for Arran's Battering Force attack, throwing up what seemed to be a shield of Wind Essence.Before the attack could hit him, however, it smashed into its actual target — the Shadowcloaked mage who was heading toward Stoneheart with a raised sword in his hands.The attack hit the mage squarely in the back, sending the man flying into Stoneheart's shield. Stoneheart staggering back from the force of the impact, while the mage crashed heavily to the ground.The force of the attack proved enough to break the mage's concentration, causing his Shadowcloak to fail. With a brief flicker of light in the air, the short, fat man suddenly became visible to the eye.Despite taking a direct hit that should have incapacitated him, the mage got to his feet immediately, and without even a second's hesitation, he turned to Arran and shot a stream of white, lightning-like fire from his hands. It hit Arran in the leg, burning straight through his armor and leaving a fist-sized h
- Forbidden Sphere
Chapter 151
The mage's thunderous words immediately set the entire camp in motion, and within moments, Arran's Shadowsight told him that hundreds of soldiers were beginning to move into the woods, with many more following behind them.It was exactly what he had hoped would happen, and he could not help but feel excited at seeing his enemies fall into the trap so easily. While he had prepared for the possibility that they would see through the ruse — it was hardly subtle, after all — it looked like everything would go according to plan.His spirits rose further when he realized that his enemies' advance was chaotic, lacking any sort of organization. Rather than progressing in tight ranks, as he imagined a real army would, they moved forward in a disorderly mass.Their sloppy advance allowed Arran to continue attacking in much the same way as he had before, striking quickly and furiously, then disappearing into the woods again before they could respond.Several of the soldiers had the presence of m
- Forbidden Sphere
Chapter 150
Arran put on the armor as quickly as he could, but it still took him more time than he would have liked. Between his coat, the helmet, the gauntlets, the gorget, the greaves, the cuisses, and all the other parts, suiting up was a slow affair, and that was hardly the only downside of wearing full armor.The quality of the armor was impressive, all the more so because Tuya had managed to find in just a few hours during the dead of night. All of it was enchanted, and it fit him better than he had any right to expect.Even so, wearing it made him slower and affected his balance, and when he put on the helmet, it immediately restricted his vision. To any other mage, the sacrifice would be far too large for a little added protection.But Arran wasn't like other mages. The control he had gained from the Tempering easily compensated for the bulk and weight of the armor, and in the dark of night, his Shadowsight would be far more useful than his eyes.When he finished suiting up, whatever part
- Forbidden Sphere
Chapter 149
"I think we're getting close," Stoneheart said, looking at the six dead men on the ground in front of them.They had already spent the better part of two weeks in search of the army, and although they had come across several scouting parties, there was little sign of the main force.The region was hilly and densely forested, and the terrain made it far harder to find the army than they had anticipated. In such an environment, they could have easily passed within a mile of their enemies without ever noticing.Initially, they had thought they could simply capture a few scouts and wring information from those, but the scouts fought with an almost religious fervor, choosing death over capture. And when they finally caught one alive, the man bit off his tongue before they could make him speak.After that, they had stopped trying to capture their enemies alive.Still, even if the scouts they found would not talk, they knew they were getting closer. Just in the past two days, they had encoun
- Forbidden Sphere
Chapter 148
"What did he say, exactly?" Snowcloud looked at Arran intently as she asked the question.They were sitting in her quarters, which Arran could not help but notice were far nicer than his own. While he had a single room with just a bed and a desk, Snowcloud had three full rooms to herself, including a bedroom, a small library, and the well-furnished sitting room they were currently using. Not that he was jealous, of course — although a bit more space would be nice.Arran quickly told Snowcloud about his meeting with Elder Naran and Stoneheart, and the offer Elder Naran had made them.When he finished speaking, Snowcloud frowned, seeming taken aback by the idea. "He wants the two of you to face an entire army together?""I assume he wants me to defeat the army, and Stoneheart to defeat their leader," Arran explained. "With the Blood magic, the soldiers' numbers won't make much of a difference to me.""But it's an entire army," Snowcloud objected. "With thousands of soldiers."Arran shoo
